Greater New Orleans

NOPD has confirmed a probe into former Saints safety Darren Sharper, shown here in 2010. The news of the sexual assault investigation comes after he was arrested in Los Angeles in a rape investigation.
(The Associated Press)

Former New
Orleans Saints safety Darren Sharper is accused of committing a sexual
assault in New Orleans, police said Saturday, a day after he was arrested in
Los Angeles on rape charges there.

Sharper,
an NFL Network analyst who during the 2009 season helped lead the Saints to a
Super Bowl victory, was booked Friday at the Los Angeles County jail in
connection with a complaint in October and another reported sometime this
month. Sharper was released on $200,000 bond just before midnight the same day.
He is due in court Feb. 14.

In New
Orleans, police said they received a report of sexual assault on Sept. 24, and
the case remains open. Sharper, 38, who lives in Miami, has not been arrested or
charged in that probe.

"As with every case alleging sexual assault,
information gathered is extremely sensitive, and the top priority of the
detectives is to protect the person who filed the complaint," NOPD
spokeswoman Remi Braden said in a written statement. "Because this is an
ongoing criminal investigation, we cannot provide additional information at
this time."

NOPD referred the case to the Orleans Parish District Attorney's office for review. "That case is presently under investigation by our office, and pursuant to office policy, we don't comment on open investigations," said Assistant District Attorney Christopher Bowman, the office spokesman.

The NFL
Network said Sharper was suspended from his job, where he has worked as an in-studio analyst since 2012.

"Darren has been suspended without pay until
further notice, effective immediately," said Alex Riethmiller, a spokesman
for NFL Network.

It remained unclear whether there was one or
multiple accusers in the New Orleans and Los Angeles cases.

"At this time, the investigation is
ongoing," a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department said. She said the
sexual assaults occurred in West Los Angeles, but she did not provide
additional details.

Sharper spent two seasons with the Saints, from 2009-10. He
helped lead them to a 13-3 regular-season record and a Super Bowl XLIV win against the
Indianapolis Colts in his first season in New Orleans, when Sharper had nine interceptions
(three returned for touchdowns). In 2010, Sharper's last season in the NFL, he played
in only eight of 16 games and didn't have any interceptions.

Sharper played in the NFL for 14 seasons from 1997
to 2010. He was with the Green Bay Packers for eight seasons and the
Minnesota Vikings for four.

Shaper was a two-time, first-team All Pro and was
named to five Pro Bowls. He was part of the NFL All-Decade Team for the 2000s.